I rode with a guy on Usal road last weekend that had a plated WR450, I believe it was a 04 and that thing ripped! Never been apart and had a lot of hours on it. Much more flickable than my DRZ.
It is about 50lbs lighter than my bike and has a bunch more HP. Doesn't have the oil capacity, and I don't think it would be as good on long trips but I've already found a few on Craigslist that have me really, really thinking hard about "trading up". There are several up in Oregon that can be had very reasonably with low hours, that or the one that is up in Redding that is plated and ready to go....

I rode with a guy on Usal road last weekend that had a plated WR450, I believe it was a 04 and that thing ripped! Never been apart and had a lot of hours on it. Much more flickable than my DRZ.
It is about 50lbs lighter than my bike and has a bunch more HP. Doesn't have the oil capacity, and I don't think it would be as good on long trips but I've already found a few on Craigslist that have me really, really thinking hard about "trading up". There are several up in Oregon that can be had very reasonably with low hours, that or the one that is up in Redding that is plated and ready to go....

I will have to double check but I am almost 100% sure that the 450 cant be ca plated. They made a wr250r that is 50 state legal and it is a very nice ride as well. There is a lot of info on the dual sport worthiness of the wr250 here in these forums as well

My Husaberg TE 300 was pretty much the ultimate plated dirt bike as long as you stayed on single track and tight 2 track, as soon as you hit the fire roads or went to Nevada the modern 4 strokes are a much better choice. I think probably the best do everything bike available now for the dirt oriented Dual Sport rider is the KTM 350 EXC, comes plated, 2 stroke light, almost 450 F power. To bad a guy just couldn't have a different bike waiting for him at each different section of a ride.

Fine looking bike in this picture.
Thanks for the input about bike selection.

I will have to double check but I am almost 100% sure that the 450 cant be ca plated. They made a wr250r that is 50 state legal and it is a very nice ride as well. There is a lot of info on the dual sport worthiness of the wr250 here in these forums as well

I beleive 2004 was the last year CA. allowed dual sport kits be installed and plating the bikes. It used to be just about lights, then they made in about emmissions also.

I rode with a guy on Usal road last weekend that had a plated WR450, I believe it was a 04 and that thing ripped! Never been apart and had a lot of hours on it. Much more flickable than my DRZ.
It is about 50lbs lighter than my bike and has a bunch more HP. Doesn't have the oil capacity, and I don't think it would be as good on long trips but I've already found a few on Craigslist that have me really, really thinking hard about "trading up". There are several up in Oregon that can be had very reasonably with low hours, that or the one that is up in Redding that is plated and ready to go....

Having it already plated would be the thing.

A WR450 is much closer to an MX bike then a streetable dualsport,much better in the dirt then any overly heavy japanese dualsport though.
A dirtbike that has been plated in another state may or may not get a license plate from CA DMV.

KTM's can be had plated from the factory since 07,I have a street legal 530 that I would sell mainly because I dont ride it much.

My father lives up in Brookings so it would be easy to register something in Oregon. There are loopholes if you want something bad enough I suppose.
I have a terrible illness that makes me look for "deals" and "oh that would be cool to have" stuff. Here Are a couple of examples of my sickness that I've pondered:

Plated 2011 WR450 - if it was a fuel injected 2012 - would be hard to resist!

Also, I'm sitting on about 40 cords of Olive Firewood - if anybody is interested picked up for $150/cord - best firewood you can buy. Very little ash, no creosote buildup and burns extremely hot - make sure your chimney is cleaned before burning... Send me a pm if interested - I'm in Corning.

A WR450 is much closer to an MX bike then a streetable dualsport,much better in the dirt then any overly heavy japanese dualsport though.
A dirtbike that has been plated in another state may or may not get a license plate from CA DMV.

KTM's can be had plated from the factory since 07,I have a street legal 530 that I would sell mainly because I dont ride it much.

Tell me more about your 530. like what year ? picture, price. weight.
I have no idea what I should try. Towing a dual sport to go riding seems a little weird still.